Grand Opening/Ground Breaking Scheduled For Wichita And Independence

Cessna Aircraft Company has announced that it will hold two major ceremonies this month in support of its expanding customer services. The first ceremony on December 9, 2004, at 2:30 p.m. will celebrate the grand opening of Cessna's Wichita Citation Service Center. The event will be held at Wichita's new Citation Service Center (One Citation Lane [2121 S. Hoover Rd.], Wichita, Kansas, 67209). Cessna will host approximately 500 people at the event including Citation customers; city, county, state and federal government officials, suppliers, and employees.

Underscoring Cessna's commitment to its growing aftermarket parts and services business, the new $61 million Wichita Citation Service Center is the world's largest general aviation maintenance facility. Located on a 124-acre site at Wichita's Mid-Continent Airport, it has 443,000 square feet and will house over 100 Citations. The facility has five hangars, with the three largest hangars encompassing over 60,000 square feet each. In addition, the building has multiple customer lounges and offices, flight planning offices, a restaurant, and a gift shop. The surrounding exterior is equipped with a dedicated run-up area, two compass roses, and four fuel farms.

Earlier this year, the company also opened a new Citation Service Center in Orlando, Florida, designed to accommodate all Citation models with a full range of inspections, maintenance, repair, overhaul and other services. Today, customers' maintenance needs are met at Cessna's 10 company-owned Citation Service Centers or 28 authorized Citation Service Centers.

Facility Expansion in Independence, Kansas

On December 21, 2004, at 11:30 a.m., Cessna will host a groundbreaking ceremony at its Independence, Kansas, facility. This event will occur on the ten-year anniversary of when Cessna named Independence, Kansas, as its new single engine piston aircraft manufacturing location. It also marks Cessna's first expansion of its Independence facility since it was dedicated on July 4, 1996.

The $20.4 million project will include the construction of a 90,000 square foot flight/delivery building and a 11,000 square foot aircraft completions building. In addition, Cessna will expand its current customer delivery center by 11,000 square feet. The construction will be completed in December 2005. These new facilities will support the production, marketing and delivery of both the Citation Mustang and single engine products.

The Cessna Independence facility sits on a 213-acre site. Current structures on the property include separate assembly, paint and delivery facilities that total nearly 400,000 square feet. Cessna broke ground for its Independence facility on May 19, 1995, and dedicated the facility on July 4, 1996.

Production line flow of the first Cessna piston engine singles since 1986 commenced on July 10, 1996, and the first customer delivery, a 172R, took place in January 1997. In 2004, Cessna celebrated the delivery of the 5000th single engine piston aircraft since restarting production, and the delivery of its 150,000th single engine since the company was founded in 1927. Today, Cessna produces six single engine piston aircraft at its Independence facility: 172R Skyhawk, 172S Skyhawk SP, 182T Skylane, Turbo T182T Skylane, 206H Stationair, and T206H Stationair.

On February 16, 2004, Cessna announced it would build its new Citation Mustang at its Independence, Kansas, facility. With approximately 230 orders already taken, Cessna anticipates Citation Mustang deliveries will be higher than any other Citation model. In support of this activity, Cessna expects to increase its Independence workforce by approximately 500 over the next several years. Currently, Cessna employs approximately 600 people in Independence.

Independence, Kansas, is located approximately 125 miles southeast of Wichita in Montgomery County. The Cessna facility is located approximately 5 miles southwest of the town. Independence, Kansas, is home to approximately 10,000 people.

FMI: www.textron.com, www.cessna.com